Robbery, Rape, and Murder: Crime Rises in New York Subway

New York City's metro system has seen an increase in crime in four major categories this year, including an increase in homicide and rape. Police said the NYPD was "handcuffed" and blamed for this on the mayor of the city.

During August, the system recorded two murders and two rapes - for comparison, in that year, in the same period of time, there was one murder and not a single rape at the same point, according to NYPD statistics released at the MTA council meeting on September 23, writes New York Post.

The number of robberies (from 307 to 327) and assaults with grievous bodily harm (from 229 to 233) also increased over the same period. The number of hate crimes also almost doubled - by 94% (or 62 versus 32 cases).

One senior police source blamed the mayor Bill de Blasio for the increase in crime: the source accused him of insisting that the mayor did not interfere in cases of low-level violations, such as stowaways, even if they could solve or stop more serious crimes.

“The mayor handcuffed police on quality of life crimes,” the source said. “And all people who pay their fares and commute to work must suffer. There are those who attack them and empty their pockets. "

On the subject: Spend $ 51,5 billion: New York announced the largest in the history of the repair of the transport system of the city

New York subway passengers said they did not need a hazard reminder.

“Every New Yorker knows trains are dangerous, especially at night,” said passenger Sam Wentz, who likened riding a night subway train to the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Mad Max.

"The whole system is terrible," said a 62-year-old Brooklyn resident who boarded the A-line train to travel home.

Gretchen Milner, an 67-year-old Manhattan resident, agreed with both, expressing longing for the days when Mike Bloomberg was mayor.

“People don't feel as safe as they used to when Bloomberg was mayor,” Milner said. "The train ride was a good experience and now it's just awful."

In general, however, the number of major criminal offenses in the system decreased by 2,6%: statistically this was due to a sharp decrease in the number of thefts by 6,3%, which almost exceeded the citywide decrease by 3,6%, NYPD reports.

"The NYPD serves nearly 6 million passengers who use the subway every day and work closely with New York City Transit to combat criminal conditions," the department said in a statement, which also said the NYPD will soon add 200 new police officers, including for work in the subway.

“Total crime in the metro system continues to decline, and the police department is actively investigating any incidents to ensure justice for the victims and the safety of all passengers.”